U.S. women's ski jumpers get new coaches for Sochi

After a decade-long fight for Olympic inclusion, the U.S. women's ski jumping team learned never to get too comfortable. With each setback or success, there's always been a bit farther to jump.

Losing a popular head coach three months before the sport makes its Olympic debut would likely impact most teams, but Paolo Bernardi, who resigned last week, and Women's Ski Jumping USA don't expect the upheaval will be an issue. After all, this is a team well-versed in adversity.

"They've been through a lot. They move forward pretty well and adapt," Women's Ski Jumping USA spokesperson Whitney Childers said Monday.

"They are amazing athletes and they are going to have great success without me," Bernardi told USA TODAY Sports on Sunday. He had planned to meet with world champ Sarah Hendrickson, who is recovering from a serious knee injury, on Monday and then return home to Italy on Thursday.

When the team was told that Norwegian Erik Renmaelmo would be their new traveling coach on the World Cup circuit, they cheered, Childers said.

In such a close-knit sport, the team knows and respects Renmaelmo, a former assistant with Norway's women's team. Alan Alborn, an assistant under Bernardi and a three-time U.S. Olympic ski jumper, moved into the top job. Alborn is based in Park City, Utah, where the team lives and trains. Renmaelmo is based in Lillehammer, Norway, where the World Cup season begins Dec. 6.

The demanding travel and an all-consuming job took a toll on Bernardi, whose family lives in Italy. After his request for international-based assistant was not met, Bernardi said he was forced to re-evaluate his situation.

Bernardi said the skiers aren't happy with his decision, but they understand. He added that others probably think he's a "crazy person" for leaving the world's top-ranked team before a historic season. "It's maybe not perfect timing … but if I stayed I would not have provided the best service for my team or myself," he said.

For a team hardened by a decade of rejection, a coaching change seems minor in comparison. Given the struggle for Olympic inclusion and funding, the U.S. women almost expect every step will be hard-fought. With just one event (normal hill) compared to three for the men (normal hill, large hill and team competition), the fight continues.

"I'm skeptical," 2009 world champion Lindsey Van said recently about further progress. "There's a piece of ski jumping that says, 'We gave you this. You should be happy with this, that's it for now. Go away for a little bit.'"

For the last decade, Van, 29, has been the face of the team's struggles, including a failed lawsuit before the 2010 Vancouver Games. The team's veterans have also listened to far-fetched reasons for their exclusion, including the president of the international skiing federation Gian-Franco Kasper, who said in 2005 that women's ski jumping was inappropriate "from a medical point of view."

The top three Americans – Hendrickson, Van and Jessica Jerome – have a combined 50 years of experience in the sport, an estimated 50,000 jumps and one lawsuit between them. Losing a coach is just the latest jump that's come their way.